FILM - World Without Sin - and RECIPE - Chikuna Matata

Weighing a turtle aboard the Sharkwater research ship

I created this film, and the recipe for a tuna salad replacement, after volunteering on a marine conservation program in Costa Rica. My experience there illustrated to me that the large ocean animals like tuna, shark, dolphin, and sea turtle are in dire straights. The same trawlers that catch tuna also kill the other animals as bycatch, so if we eat tuna we’re directly supporting the killing of so much more (over 100 million shark are caught each year, as well as around 650,000 dolphins, seals and sea turtles combined). I helped marine biologists with their work, tracking sharks and sea turtles and recording the data. We did scuba dives in the Pacific Ocean 2 or 3 times a day. The biologists were happy if we saw a single shark or turtle on a dive. 30 years ago my very first dive offered up 9 sharks, 2 huge manta rays and so much more. That was normal then. Now our oceans are relatively empty. 

Credible science backs my anecdotal observations up (check out the work of Prof Boris Worm at Dalhousie University). Over 95% of many species of shark, tuna and other large fish have been wiped out by industrial fishing fleets over the past 40 years. The prediction is that they will all be extinct very soon. Unless we act. 

I shot this film to show how beautiful life is under the ocean's surface, in an attempt to convince viewers that it was worth preserving. The soundrack was created by a Toronto friend, Anwan. I gave him the edited footage and only one direction, which was, I didn't want any sinister music when the sharks appeared. Sharks are seen as evil, or harmful, for a variety of reasons, one of which is that we humans portray them as such in the films that we make and the books that we write. Jaws is perhaps the most famous example of this. Following the film's release, large shark populations along the eastern US fell by over 50%. Anwan understood completely, his soundtrack is perfect. 

As usual with my films, there was no budget for this. I borrowed the GoPro camera, and shot it whilst I was on the Costa Rican expedition. Anwan kindly gave his time gratis. I hope you enjoy the film, and the recipe. 

Chickuna Matata

Our supermarkets will continue to stock cans of tuna until the very last fish is hauled out of the sea and slaughtered. But we can make them stop by refusing to buy it. 

This isn’t just to help the fish out, either. If they go extinct the scientists have predicted that the ocean food chain may break down and the oceans may become a series of toxic zones that can’t supply us with 50% of the oxygen we breathe, as they do now. This recipe is also healthier than tuna salad with more carb, and fibre (which most of us lack in our diet). Help preserve the oceans, your oxygen, and your loved one’s health. 

Plus, all that aside, this tastes way, way better than any tuna salad. Eat Chickuna Matata! 

Ingredients;

2 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 large can.
3 tbsp tahini.
1 tsp Dijon mustard, or ½ tsp mustard powder & 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar.
1 tbsp each of maple syrup, chopped capers, and sunflower seeds.
¼ cup each of diced red onion, diced celery, and diced dill pickle.
1½ tsp salt.
½ tsp each of black pepper, and ketchup/sriracha.

Method;

Put the chickpeas into a bowl and mash with a fork, leaving a few beans whole. Add all of the other ingredients into the bowl and mix well. Add more seasoning if required.
If it doesn’t taste of the ocean enough for you, try adding some torn up nori seaweed sheets.
If serving in a bowl, garnish with chopped green onion, or parsley, and a sprinkle of paprika.
This mix will keep in the fridge for 5 days if covered. Goes well with crackers, in sandwiches, or as a filling for the middle of celery sticks.